Royal Caribbean Now Lets You Bid on CocoCay Cabanas and Pool Casitas. Here Are the Actual Numbers
- The Walking Cruiser
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Sea day casita bids start at $990, embarkation day starts at $440, and winning the bid doesn't guarantee the thing exists
Royal Caribbean has quietly opened up RoyalUp beyond cabin upgrades. You can now place blind bids on casitas, in-pool daybeds and cabanas at Perfect Day at CocoCay. The headline is that it's a new way to get an expensive add-on for less than list price. The more useful story is in the bid ranges themselves, because they tell you exactly how much Royal Caribbean thinks a sea day on the pool deck is worth, and it is a lot more than you'd guess.
The expansion was reported by Royal Caribbean Blog on August 20, 2026, based on an email sent to guests booked on an upcoming Icon of the Seas sailing. Nothing bigger had published on August 23 when I checked, so this one is a few days old rather than today's news.
Key facts
RoyalUp bidding now covers experiences, not just cabin upgrades: casitas, Hideaway daybeds, and CocoCay cabanas and beach beds
On the example Icon of the Seas sailing, casita bids ran from $440 to $650 on embarkation day and from $990 to $1,400 on a sea day
Hideaway Oceanview Daybed bids ran $225 to $400. Hideaway In-Pool Daybed bids ran $280 to $500
CocoCay cabana bids ran $400 to $1,500. Beach bed bids ran $200 to $500
Every bid is per experience, not per person. Beach beds hold up to 4 guests, cabanas up to 8
Bids can be withdrawn any time before they're accepted, and you're not charged until an upgrade is confirmed
Royal Caribbean states plainly that the experience you bid on may not be available, and that your bid is held in case it becomes available
What's actually new here
Bidding on a CocoCay cabana isn't brand new. Royal Caribbean introduced that option last year. What's changed is the range: the offer now sweeps in onboard experiences too, specifically pool deck casitas and the daybeds in the adults-only Hideaway area on Icon Class ships.
A casita, if you haven't come across one, is a private covered daybed on the upper pool deck. It comes with towels, a cooler, storage for your things and a charging outlet. They're on Royal Caribbean's newest ships and on some recently refurbished ones. Functionally, it's a reserved spot on a pool deck that gets brutally competitive by 8am.
The Hideaway daybeds are the ones beside and inside the Hideaway pool. Both hold up to four guests, and both come with a bottle of champagne, branded souvenir glasses, four water bottles and dedicated drinks service.
The bidding works the same way as cabin RoyalUp. You put in a blind offer, you can pull it back at any point before it's accepted, and nothing is charged until the upgrade is confirmed.
The numbers are the story
This is the part worth sitting with. On that example Icon of the Seas sailing:
Experience | Bid range |
Casita, embarkation day | $440 to $650 |
Casita, sea day | $990 to $1,400 |
Hideaway Oceanview Daybed | $225 to $400 |
Hideaway In-Pool Daybed | $280 to $500 |
CocoCay cabana | $400 to $1,500 |
CocoCay beach bed | $200 to $500 |
The casita gap is the one that should make you pause. The minimum bid on a sea day, $990, is more than double the maximum embarkation day bid of $650. Royal Caribbean has worked out precisely which day everyone wants the shade, and priced accordingly.
For both Hideaway daybeds, bids come in slightly cheaper on embarkation day and port days than on sea days. Same logic, smaller spread.
One important caveat: these figures come from a single example sailing on Icon of the Seas. Bid ranges will vary by ship, sailing date and demand, so don't treat these as fixed prices. Treat them as a realistic idea of the ballpark.
The catch nobody puts in the headline
Royal Caribbean is upfront about this in its own wording, and it's easy to skim past. Placing a bid does not mean the experience is currently available. The cruise line holds your bid on the off chance the item frees up later.
So you might submit $1,100 for a sea day casita, sit on it for weeks, and simply never hear anything, because there was never an unsold casita to give you. That's not a scam, it's how a waitlist works. But it does mean this isn't a reliable way to plan your holiday around a specific experience. If you absolutely want a CocoCay cabana for your one CocoCay day, buying it outright in the Cruise Planner is still the only way to actually secure it.
The other thing to check before you bid: what is it selling for right now? The whole premise of RoyalUp is paying under list price. If the minimum bid is within about $50 of the Cruise Planner price, the bid isn't a saving, it's just a slower purchase with no guarantee attached. Compare before you offer.
Why Royal Caribbean is doing this
Same reason as every other recent change: unsold inventory is wasted revenue.
A cabana that goes unbooked on a Tuesday earns nothing. Opening it to bidding gives Royal Caribbean a financial backstop, and gives the guest a shot at a lower price. That genuinely is a fair trade for both sides, as long as you go in understanding it's a maybe rather than a booking.
It also fits the direction the company has been signalling. On Royal Caribbean Group's second quarter 2026 earnings call, CEO Jason Liberty pointed to onboard spending and pre-cruise purchases running ahead of previous years, and credited investment in digital channels and more personalised offers for connecting guests with experiences at the right moment. Expanded RoyalUp bidding is that strategy in practice: another targeted, personalised way to get money spent before you've even boarded.
Should you bid?
My take: bid on the things you'd like but can live without, and buy outright the things that would ruin your day to miss.
Bidding makes sense for a Hideaway daybed at $225 to $400. That's a nice-to-have, the sums are modest, and if it doesn't land you've lost nothing.
Bidding makes less sense for a CocoCay cabana if that cabana is the reason your family is excited about CocoCay. A bid of $400 to $1,500 that may never be accepted is not a plan. Buy it, or go with a beach bed, or accept a regular sun lounger and spend the money on something else entirely.
And the sea day casita at $990 minimum? For a reserved chair with a cooler and a plug socket, on a ship where you can get a decent lounger by turning up at a reasonable hour, that's a hard sell. Bid the minimum if you fancy it. Don't chase it.
FAQ
What can you bid on with RoyalUp now?
Beyond cabin upgrades, Royal Caribbean is now taking bids on pool deck casitas, Hideaway Oceanview and In-Pool daybeds, and cabanas and beach beds at Perfect Day at CocoCay, including at South Beach, Breezy Bay and Chill Island.
How much does it cost to bid on a CocoCay cabana?
On the example Icon of the Seas sailing reported by Royal Caribbean Blog, cabana bids ranged from $400 to $1,500 and beach bed bids from $200 to $500. Bids vary by ship and sailing, so check your own offer email rather than assuming these figures.
Is a RoyalUp bid per person or per cabana?
Per experience, not per person. A cabana holds up to 8 guests and a beach bed up to 4, so the cost is split across everyone using it.
Does a RoyalUp bid guarantee you get the cabana?
No. Royal Caribbean says the experience you bid on may not be available, and that it keeps your bid in case one opens up. If you need the cabana for certain, buy it in the Cruise Planner instead.
Can you cancel a RoyalUp experience bid?
Yes. Bids can be placed and withdrawn at any time until they're accepted, and your card isn't charged until the upgrade is confirmed.
The bottom line
This is a decent option dressed up as a bargain. The bidding mechanic is fair, the withdrawal terms are reasonable, and there's real money to be saved on unsold inventory. Just go in knowing two things: a bid is not a booking, and the sea day pricing tells you exactly how much Royal Caribbean knows you want that shade.
If you've won a bid on a cabana or a casita, I'd love to know what you paid against the list price, because that's the number that decides whether this is worth anyone's time. Drop it in the comments. And for more on what these add-ons are actually like once you're on board, that's what I cover on The Walking Cruiser YouTube channel.
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